Sporting Life
Mark Williams
Mark Williams

World Championship snooker: Mark Williams leads Ronnie O'Sullivan 6-2; Kyren Wilson on top against Judd Trump

By Sporting Life
Snooker
Tue August 11, 2020 · 5y ago

Mark Williams is firmly on course for a seventh World Championship semi-final after establishing a 6-2 lead over Ronnie O'Sullivan at the Crucible.

All eyes were on O'Sullivan beforehand following his impressive defeat of Ding Junhui on Sunday evening and some damning comments he made about the standard of young talent in the game immediately afterwards.

However, he was made to play nothing more than a supporting role less than 48 hours later as a rejuvenated Williams played with fluency and an air of authority not seen from the Welshman since he claimed his third world title in 2018.

On the evidence of this afternoon's opening session, a fourth Crucible victory looks well within his grasp after he made breaks of 70, 72, 56 and 130 to leave O'Sullivan chained to his cheer for long periods.

O'Sullivan actually looked in good touch himself when taking a 2-1 lead thanks to contributions of 101 and 70 but when he missed a long red that was almost hanging over the pocket in frame four, Williams stepped in to win a frame that might well prove to be a decisive turning point in the match.

Frame five went the same way, O'Sullivan having his chances but Williams continuing to chip away, before the latter extended his lead to 4-2 when adding a silky run of 72.

O'Sullivan seemed sure to stop the rot when well set in frame seven, but a missed pink that joined the list of O'Sullivan unforced errors for the afternoon opened the door for Williams once more and he took command with a break of 56.

It wasn't quite enough to seal the frame but when O'Sullivan inexplicably refused the chance to ask Williams to play again after the latter had failed to escape from a snooker, Williams was left with a simple pot to middle on his very next visit, one he rolled in with ease.

With O'Sullivan now firmly on the ropes, Williams ensured the one-way traffic continued when finishing the session with a fabulous break 130 that saw his lead to swell to 6-2 and left the Rocket with a mountain to climb if he is to keep his hopes of winning a sixth World Championship title alive.

Trump on the back foot again

World number one Judd Trump trailed Kyren Wilson 10-6 at the end of the second session in their World Championship quarter-final clash at the Crucible.

Having led 5-3 in the morning, the Kettering potter - who has only played one match so far, having received a bye into the second round - doubled his advantage by taking the final three frames of the evening, leaving the defending champion in trouble.

Wilson drew first blood with a run of 74 in the opener but defending champion Trump responded with breaks of 85 and 76 in the next two frames to edge ahead.

A run of three successive frames then helped Wilson build a 4-2 lead before Trump reduced the deficit by taking the seventh.

However, Wilson was able to restore his two-frame lead with a break of 79 just before the interval after Trump had fluffed a couple good chances to level the scores.

It was the third successive match in which Trump has trailed after the first session and, try as he might, he could not haul himself level in the evening, eventually ending it even worse off.

Trump took the first and third frames of the second session but each time Wilson responded, first in a tight and potentially pivotal 12th frame, and then with a break of 94 in frame 14.

Frame 12 will have been especially painful for Trump, who had fought for a chance to win it and left himself a straight, mid-length black, which he rattled in the jaws. A safety exchanged followed and it was Trump who blinked first, leaving Wilson a chance he took before a fluent, frame-winning contribution in the next.

That break was followed by a run of 80 to move into a three-frame lead and Wilson then landed another huge blow in the last of the day, rallying to take it and move within three of the semi-finals.

Selby in the ascendancy

In a clash between two former champions, Mark Selby leads Neil Robertson 11-5. The evening session of their match was tortuous at times, and that suited Selby as he extended his lead to 7-3.

Robertson stuck to his task though and got back to an 8-5 deficit after taking a frame on a re-spotted black as officials at the Crucible braced themselves for a long night.

However Selby responded again, keeping the Australian at arm's length by taking the next three frames to close the session with a six frame advantage.

In the morning session Selby had spurned a golden opportunity to take complete control of the match and put one foot in the door of the semi-finals, seeing his 5-0 advantage reduced to 5-3.

Selby looked sharp from the outset and rattled off breaks of 73, 63, 72 and 66 as he raced into a 5-0 lead with the sort of snooker that saw him win three world titles between 2014 and 2017.

Robertson finally had something to smile about when getting his first frame on the board thanks to a run of 83 and then pounced superbly when Selby missed a black on 54 in frame seven, clearing the table with a break of 66 that reduced his arrears further.

With that body blow still stinging, Selby would have been desperate to claim the eighth and final frame of the morning, but a well-taken 65 gave Robertson the upper hand and he held his nerve to sink a long blue that got him over the line and ensured he won the final three frames of the session.

Finally, Anthony McGill leads Kurt Maflin 7-1 in their battle of the qualifiers.

In a match yet to produce a century, McGill ground out a commanding lead and has now won 18 of the last 23 frames he's played in the tournament.

More World Championship content